


Tell me where your love lies (waste the day and spend the night)

by Unfunctional_Hijabi



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, deanoru being soft is my kink, i hope yall like it, i really am a sucker for song fics, passing gertchase
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 10:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13702752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfunctional_Hijabi/pseuds/Unfunctional_Hijabi
Summary: A song fic based on Love Lies by Khalid and Normani Kordei





	Tell me where your love lies (waste the day and spend the night)

_Sorry if it’s hard to catch my vibe_

_I need a lover to trust, tell me you’re on my side_

_Are you down for the ride?_

 

They had been able to retrieve the Staff of One.

And now they were running.

 

Karolina’s vision was blurry, tears kept streaming down her face. She wiped it furiously with the back of her hand, she didn’t know how exactly she was still able to move. She figured, adrenaline was the only thing keeping her feet moving against the pavement. Even when her feet were starting to give out, a burning feeling tingling on her calves. They had been running for a while.

“One more turn and we’re there!” she heard Chase yelled out, though vaguely. She wouldn’t have turned around the corner if it wasn’t for Nico tugging around her wrist to go with her.

They didn’t climb into the van, they scrambled into it. Gert quickly pulled the door shut as the van jerked into a start. Karolina leaned to the van’s wall, pressing the heels of her hands as she closed her eyes to try to catch her breath. Her chest hurt and she knew it wasn’t just because of all the running she had done. The blankness of her mind was quickly replaced by flashes of an all too familiar face and she felt like breaking down into a sob.

She felt someone shuffled closer more than she heard it, not with her heart pounding to her ears. A delicate hand then circled around her wrist, tugging ever so gently and she knew who it was immediately. She didn’t budge immediately, but still, Nico waited patiently until she was ready. And her heart ache, knowing that Nico was still there.

Karolina finally let her hands rest on her side, leaving her face bare, unprotected, for Nico’s judgment. She worried her lip between her teeth, her eyes were puffy, and her breath was still coming in and out in short gasps. She was _wrecked_ and she didn’t want Nico to see her like this. She didn’t want _anyone_ to see her like this, especially not Nico.

They had planned this for days: to enter the Minorus resident, take the Staff, face the Minorus, and then run. Nico had prepared for the worst, to face her parents if she had to. What they hadn’t prepared though, was for her father, Frank, to be there alongside Jonah. The Minorus were strangely not even there. And it took Karolina to a state she had never been before. She felt all the anger and betrayal surfaced and she wanted to blast him, so bad. But then Frank’s face softened, a look of fondness passed on his face as his eyes landed on Karolina and that left her with confusion, she didn’t know _what_ to feel. She wanted to run to his arms and pretend nothing ever happened. But then Jonah spoke and all those fondness was gone, replaced with something she had never seen on his face before. A gaze so cold, it was hard to see her father in it. Then Chase came, blasting them with his fistigons, momentarily blinding them. It was a blur from then on. Nico casted a spell, Karolina was still too dumbstruck to actually know what she had said. Then they ran, Chase dragging her by the arm.

Nico’s hand found Karolina’s cheek, bringing her back to reality. Her finger wiping away any remnants of tears left on her face. Her voice was gentle when she said, “I’m sorry, Kar. It’s gonna be okay.”

And when she wrapped her into a hug, she broke. She let all her anger and sadness and betrayal flowed through. Her body shook with all those feelings, a sob teared through her chest, and she felt small, so small, in Nico’s arms. Nico kept combing through her hair, cooing comforting words into her ear. And Karolina remembered the words, holding it near to her heart.

“I’m here for you, I’m always gonna be here.”

The safest place Karolina knows, in this entire planet, was in Nico’s arms.

 

* * *

 

 

_It’s not easy for someone to catch my eye_

_But I’ve been waitin’ for you for my whole damn life_

_For my whole lifetime_

 

“Look, judge me all you want but pineapple on pizza is fine! They taste as good!” Chase groaned.

“You’re going to hell for saying that, ya hear me,” Nico said, grabbing another slice of the pepperoni pizza out of the box Karolina had passed. They were circling the fire for dinner, something that had become a routine for their little family. Chase and Gert were leaning on the side of the van, a blanket sprawled across their laps like some old married couple. Alex was seated near the fire, holding his hands out for warmth. Karolina and Molly were leaning against a log with Old Lace between them, her head on Molly’s lap and her tail on Karolina’s. Nico was seated cross-legged on the log, just within reach to Karolina.

“That, should sound scary to you Chase. It’s coming from Miss Death herself,” Gert whispered dramatically, still too loud for everyone to hear.

“I’m fine with anything, really, as long as it’s food” Molly shrugged, unamused by the whole argument about pineapple on pizza. She shoved another pizza down her throat, her other hand stroking Old Lace’s head.

“Huh you said a different thing about canned soup the other day,” Chase teased, smiling fondly at Molly.

“That one’s disgusting okay! It’s like whoever made it has _never_ had a real soup before,” Molly huffed, crossing her arms on her chest.

“Not as disgusting as Dale and Stacie’s brie,” Nico quipped, earning a playful glare from Gert.

“You shut your mouth,” the purple-haired warned, throwing a twig at Nico’s way before it fell flat on the ground.

Nico shrugged, but a small smile was playing on her lips. Karolina knew she would never admit it to anyone but she knew Nico had grown very fond of their little dinner banters.

“Settle this all you want but I’m gonna go to the van and wrap myself up in blanket,” Alex said with a sigh and a shake of his head. He stood up from where he previously sat and walked towards the back of the van.

“You guys are _children_ ,” Karolina said with an amused laugh as she watched Alex climbed into the van.

“We drove Grandpa Alex mad,” Gert said, laughing.

“I heard that! I’m not a grandpa!” Alex yelled from inside the van.

“Whatever you say, Old Man!” Chase yelled back with a grin on his face.

And then they were back with silence, everyone eating their foods as they stare at the fire. It was only seconds later that she felt Nico’s knee nudging her that Karolina look up. And when she did, God, was it a sight to see. Nico’s face was bare, it was nighttime, of course they had prepared to sleep. She wore Karolina’s flannel shirt to keep herself warm, a bit too long on her small frame. Her hair was pulled into a bun, revealing her slender neck. The light from the fire made her look soft and warm, just as _she_ made Karolina feel. A fond smile tugged on her lips as their eyes met. Nico looked at her with a playful smirk on her face.

“You’ve got something on your face, weirdo,” she whispered, nose crinkling in the way that it was especially reserved for Karolina.

Karolina’s cheeks felt warm, she was sure she was blushing. She almost managed to stutter out the question of where it is when Nico leaned down, pressing her lips to the edge of her lips. Karolina was about to turn her face to capture her lips when Nico pulled away.

“There, gone,” Nico said with a wink.

Her face had surely gone redder, and when she heard Gert said, “Ugh, gross!” she was possibly as red as a beet, or an apple, or anything _red_ really.

“Quit it, Gert, she’s waited a long time for this,” Molly said, coming to Karolina’s defense.

Nico quirked an eyebrow at her, “Have you?”

In a moment of boldness, Karolina found her hand shooting up to Nico’s neck, pulling her down so her lips could meet hers. Her eyes fluttered close as she felt Nico gasped into the kiss and it was sweet and it was pure and Molly was right, she had waited for a long, _long_ , time to kiss Nico.

When they pulled back, Nico was smiling and her eyes a beautiful warm brown glaze that she could drown into any day. Nico kept her forehead pressed against Karolina’s, her breath tickling her face. And Karolina smiled her widest smile, she sounded breathless when she said, “I have waited for my whole lifetime.”

 

* * *

 

 

_Don’t be afraid to tell me if you ain’t with it_

_I see you’re focused, yeah you’re so independent_

_It’s hard for me to open up, I’ll admit it_

_You’ve got some shit to say and I’m here to listen_

 

“Do you think we should take it slow?”

Karolina looked up from sewing her ripped shirt to find Nico looking at her through the mirror. They had found a motel to stay in for a night. After weeks of being crammed inside the van, everyone had agreed that they should enjoy the simple luxury of a bed and warm shower. Karolina had been excited for a chance to share a _real_ bed with Nico but after what Nico had just said, she couldn’t help the sinking feeling she felt in her stomach.

“What do you mean?” Karolina asked, her voice sounded small even to her own ears.

“I mean—” Nico looked down to her eyes, no longer meeting Karolina’s eyes through the mirror. She heard a sigh before the small girl turned to her, walking quickly to sit on the edge of the bed. Closer to where Karolina sat against the headboard, but still… too far. She sat there cross-legged, she was twiddling her thumbs nervously, eyes set on them. “Us, do you think we should take it slow?”

“I—” Karolina found it hard to talk, it felt like her throat was closing up, “Do you feel like we’re going too fast?”

“No!” Nico quickly interjected, shooting up from where she was seated. Now Karolina was confused. It must be evident on her expression because Nico sighed and went to crawl up to where Karolina sat. She leaned against the headboard, taking Karolina’s hand in hers. “I mean, we’re in a motel room… alone?”

Karolina looked at Nico’s nervous expression, trying to process the question before it finally clicked. “ _Oh_.”

“It’s not because I don’t like you! because I am, I do, I like you a lot. But I feel like I’m still trying to understand myself? But if you want to then—”

“Hey Nico, slow down!” Karolina said, pressing a kiss to Nico’s hand. Nico had gone to a full-blown ramble and she’d be lying if she didn’t think that it was cute. “Look, I thought you wanted to take our relationship slow, I was scared that I had done something wrong—”

“Oh, no. Kar, no—”

“Let me finish?” Karolina cut, a small smile playing on her lips. She really couldn’t help but think that nervous Nico was adorable. Nico nodded, pressing her lips tight together. “But I want you to know that if you don’t feel like we’re working out, you can talk to me. And you can talk to me about _anything_. Including… uh, this.”

Karolina blushed despite herself, and this time it was Nico who was smiling fondly at her. Karolina nudged at her playfully, a giggle escaping her lips before she continued, “Now, talk to me. Slowly. About how you feel”

Nico took a deep breath, entwining her fingers with Karolina’s. She kept her eyes trained on their linked hands when she said, “I guess, I’ve realized that I’ve liked you… for a long time, too.”

Karolina didn’t say anything, she kept her eyes trained on Nico, watching her expression shifts. A small smile tugged on Nico’s lips when she finally looked up to meet Karolina’s eyes.

“When you kissed me, I guess it came crashing down on me that I’ve liked you. And I didn’t ever think it was possible to like you, until that moment. With Alex—” they had never talked about Nico’s relationship with Alex, “—it was easy. And it felt good, to be liked. It felt like it was instinctive. When he kissed me, I, somehow, should like him back.”

She paused, and Karolina pressed a kiss to her hand as a silent encouragement for her to continue. Nico watched her, a warmth in her eyes, before she continued, “It was only later that I realized that it was, in Gert’s word, heteronormativity—” she laughed, and Karolina laughed too, “—don’t tell her I quote her.”

“Never,” Karolina said, still laughing.

“Anyway,” she continued after their laughter died down, “From that moment on, I’m trying to further understand myself and coming to terms with my sexuality. It’s sort of scary, especially when I—” her voice cracked, “—almost lost you. But then, I didn’t—” her eyes started to glaze with tears and this might be the first time Karolina had seen her so vulnerable, “—and I still had to understand myself. And it’s scary, cause I really like you, and everything was the unknown. Our life _becomes_ the unknown. And I didn’t know what my sexuality is on top of _everything_ that is happening in our life.”

“Do you know now?” Karolina asked gently, reaching out to wipe a stray tear that had fallen on her face.

“Yeah,” Nico said, though she still sounded unconvinced of herself. She took in a shaky breath, then repeated with more certainty, “Yeah I do.”

“Okay, I’m proud of you.” Karolina said, smiling.

“It’s silly, it doesn’t have anything to do with us having sex—” Karolina blushed, Nico looked at her with an amused smirk, but then continued, “—but yeah, I didn’t want to do it when I’m still trying to understand myself.”

“I—” Karolina was still blushing but she managed to croak out, “I understand”

“Anyway,” Nico tugged on Karolina’s hand, “I think I’m bi. And it took so long for me to process my feeling for you even though I’m practically jumping for it. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Karolina smiled, tucking Nico’s hair behind her ears. She leaned in and Nico met her halfway. She felt Nico smile into the kiss, they even had to break the kiss because Nico was smiling so wide. “I’m proud of you”

“Thank you for listening,” Nico said, taking Karolina’s abandoned sewing mission and putting it on the nightstand.

Karolina hadn’t even said thank you before she saw Nico arching her eyebrows at her, a smirk playing on her lips, “so about this bed and us?”

“Nico!” Karolina groaned and put a pillow on her face to hide her surfacing blush from Nico.

 

* * *

 

 

_So baby, tell me where your love lies_

_Waste the day and spend the night_

_Underneath the sunrise_

_Show me where your love lies_

 

“Tell me again why we have to bathe Old Lace this early in the morning?” Nico groaned as she was struggling to get the bucket up the hill. The sun was lazily rising and both girls were up to do their task.

Karolina sat on a log, Old Lace’s head rested on her lap as the dinosaur was slipping in and out of sleep.

“Because she doesn’t move much in the morning, she’s still sleepy,” Karolina answered with a smile, holding Old Lace’s head gently as she slipped out from under the dinosaur’s head, careful not to startle her.

“ _I’m_ still sleepy and no one cares,” she huffed, setting the bucket down on the ground.

“Okay, babe, we get that you’re not a morning person but Old Lace isn’t gonna bathe herself,” Karolina said, throwing a sponge her way.

Nico caught it but stuck out a tongue at Karolina. She went on to mutter, “maybe she should learn to.”

Karolina laughed, shaking her head as she took some soap and poured it into the bucket. The six of them had agreed to take shifts in bathing Old Lace when she had started to emit an unpleasant smell. The first time had been Gert and Molly, now it was Nico’s and Karolina’s turn. Gert and Molly made the mistake of doing it in the afternoon, when Old Lace was at her most active, and it ended with both girls being drenched from head to toe. Not to mention, they had to run around chasing Lace and it was a big waste of water.

“Seriously I haven’t had my coffee yet,” Nico huffed as she started scrubbing Old Lace’s back.

“You will after this,” Karolina said, while she scrubbed Old Lace’s tail.

They did it in silence, with Karolina knowing that Nico really didn’t talk much in the morning. But that didn’t stop Nico from huffing and groaning. Karolina playfully glared at her from time to time but it was growing to be annoying. Karolina couldn’t resist to splash some water at her.

“K!” Nico exclaimed, some of her hair wet and a side of her shirt drenched. “What the hell?!”

“Since you’re such a grumpy pants who had trouble staying awake,” Karolina said, a playful grin on her face.

“Oh, I’m so gonna get you back.” Nico warned, circling Old Lace to reach the bucket.

“No you’re not!” Karolina snatched the bucket before Nico could reach it. She frantically looked around to see if she could put the bucket in a place Nico couldn’t reach. Nico was charging at her and she sprinted to the van, the water sloshing out of the bucket as she ran.

Nico was fast, though, she was able to tackle Karolina halfway there and they both tumbled to the ground. The bucket falling with them, splashing them both with water. The bucket rolled helplessly on the ground while Nico had fallen flat on Karolina’s back, pinning the taller girls against the ground. Both of them drenched and dirty as the dirt started to stick on their wet skins and clothes.

“Look what you’ve done!” Karolina exclaimed, ignoring the dull pain all over her body from being tackled by Nico. She had grown used to of the pain from falling down, really.

“I told you I’m gonna get you back,” Nico laughed, her breath tickling the back of Karolina’s neck.

“Jokes on you, you’re also drenched,” Karolina huffed, but still laughed nonetheless. She tried to pat Nico with her hand, but Nico stood up. Karolina rolled on her back to find Nico holding out a hand for her to take, and who was she to reject her? So she took Nico’s hand and let her help her up.

Nico’s hand found Karolina’s cheek and she wiped away the dirt that stick there, with a huge smile and playful glint in here eyes. Karolina was transfixed at this glowing Nico, she somehow had managed to make Nico so energetic in the morning.

“God, Kar, I love you,” she whispered, as if it was a secret, and Karolina took in a deep breath. Her brain short-circuited, did Nico really just…?

She had expected Nico to retaliate, to take back her words. But she didn’t. She even repeated herself, looking more surely with a voice louder and clearer, “I love you, K”

And Karolina smiled, a smile so wide she felt like it was the widest her lips had ever stretched. The sun had fully risen and Nico seemed like she was glowing, and her skin was warm, and the look she was giving her as warm. And Karolina, hopelessly in love Karolina, felt as warm. She turned her head to kiss Nico’s palm and said, “I love you, too.”

Nico laughed, not because of her profession of love, but because she was happy. “If we weren’t covered in dirt I’d kiss you.”

The warmth in her chest kept spreading, she couldn’t help but answered, “you have yourself to blame, Nico.”

Their moment was cut short, though, because moments later they heard Gert exclaimed, “What’s this mess, you guys?!” and it was back to work they go.

**Author's Note:**

> if you feel like sending prompts (in whatever form, song or just plain ol' prompt) send it via dm on twitter to @minorusdeans! comments and kudos will be greatly appreciated! i hope you enjoyed the fic and i'm sorry if there was any grammatical error as english is not my first language. happy lunar new year to those who celebrate!


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